On 13 April, team leaders Specialist Four Robert J. Wallace, 19, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Sergeant Steven G. Averill, 21, from El Cajon, California were heading up a reconnaissance patrol in a suspected infiltration area near Bearcat. "We were just starting to set up about five yards off a trail when all of a sudden there they were," said Wallace. We were in heavy foliage when four VC came down the trail from the west and four more from the east. When they spotted one of our men we opened up. We usually try to avoid that type of contact but when a VC is looking at you from fifteen meters away, you have to shoot,"
They had watched the trail for two days and nights, charting movement and numbers. On the third day deciding to grab one of the small groups which frequented the area? The four VC coming from the west looked perfect but then four others appeared from the east. They were the point element for about thirty more VC. "We killed five in the first burst and were pulling back toward the landing zone when the larger force hit," continued Wallace.
Wallace said the VC fired small arms and automatic weapons at the team. Averill called in for gunship support. The gun ships were on location within minutes and their fire was devastating. They were credited with killing ten VC. The LRRPs had been pinned down but the quick reaction and support of the choppers allowed them to break contact and escape to the LZ. The team was extracted without incident.
On April 16 First Sergeant Joseph Melvin Jones and Staff Sergeant Johnston Dunlop were killed while on an ambush patrol in the Bien Hoa Province. Team one was made up of "Top" Jones, SSGs Dunlop and Greg Nizialek, with Specialists Four Phil Katsis and James Counts. Team two consisted of Specialists Four Wayne Fentress, Jack Delaney, Eugene Richardson, Richard "Little Jonesy" Jones, and George E. Kozach Jr. filling out the team. Over the preceding weeks, enemy activity and sightings had been heavy in the area around the Binh Son Plantation. The mission was to set up an ambush on a known VC route and disrupt the movement of men and supplies in that area. Initial plans called for a 7:30 am insertion but unforeseen circumstances delayed that until almost 8:30 am. About an hour behind schedule, the team was inserted and moved quickly to the selected position.
Team two was on the left flank of the ambush where Fentress and Richardson began putting the claymores in place as Delaney, "Little Jonesy", and Kozach provided flank and rear security. The claymores on the left portion of the kill zone were in place and armed. Simultaneously Katsis was placing the claymores on the right flank of the kill zone while Dunlop was to insert the blasting caps and arm them. "Top" Jones, Counts, and Nizialek were providing all around security on the right flank.
Before the ambush was completely set the VC came into view of the men on the right flank of the ambush. Normally the VC parade down the trails with an "I own the jungle" attitude, weapons slung over their shoulder, singing and talking loudly. Charlie" was alert this day. They came quietly, weapons at the ready, and spotted the LRRPs before entering the kill zone. Automatic weapons fire from both sides broke the quiet of the morning that day and when the smoke had cleared "Top" Jones was dead, SSG Dunlop was seriously wounded, and SP4 Counts was shot in the forehead.
The initial volley of small arms fire hit Katsis's ruck sack and set off a yellow smoke. The blast of the claymores knocked Delaney into a tree. He turned and began to fire into the smoke on the right flank of the ambush. A VC near "Top" was looking directly at him and Delaney saw him aim and fire. "Five tracers in a horse-shoe shape came at me, I knew I was dead, all I heard was Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, and Pop! To my surprise, I was still standing" said Delaney. Loading his fourth magazine into his M16 he continued to fire as the smoke was starting to clear. There were six to eight dead V.C. laying on the trail.
Delaney was checking the trail to make sure all the V.C. were dead as the rest of the team was moving Counts and Dunlop to the LZ. Fentress, Nizialek and Delaney then pulled "Top's body down into the riverbed when all HELL broke lose!!! It sounded like 100 VC were on line shooting at them. Bullets were flying every where. Trees were cut down by the heavy volume of small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, and hand grenades!! The only thing between them and the VC was the riverbed. They dragged "Top's body down the riverbed, placed him under some over hanging brush, then camouflaged and booby trapped his body. They were unable to bring "Top" out and but would return later to retrieve him. They low crawled for over 100 yards to the L.Z.!!
At the L.Z., Fentress had them consolidate our magazines into a pile. Two guys were loading and shooting into the wood line. Delaney carried 31 high explosive (HE) rounds for his M-79 grenade launcher, using it as a mortar with the rounds hitting 50 to 100 yards into the wood line. Specialist Fentress applied a field dressing to Dunlop's wounds and administered morphine as they moved to the LZ for extraction. Delaney carried Dunlop to the chopper. A door gunner shot three VC that ran out onto the LZ. As the gun ships rolled in the team marked the enemy positions with tracer rounds. Rockets devastated the wood line and the pick-up chopper came in at tree top level, swooped down, and successfully extracted most of the patrol. Fentress and Mathews waited on the LZ for the second pick up chopper.
Unaware that there were two LRRPs left on the ground the VC emerged onto the LZ to scrounge any equipment or supplies that may have been left behind. Fentress and Mathews were able to direct the gun ships and called in effective fire on the unsuspecting VC. Once back to Bearcat the choppers were refueled, while a reaction force made up from the Aero Rifle Platoon assembled on the helipad. They were guided back to the "combat zone" by Fentress, Delaney, and Frost. Two additional VC were killed while "Top's remains were recovered. Delaney was hit in the leg with shrapnel.
Souvenirs were a big thing. Everyone wanted to recover a weapon or some other war trophy to take home. Marze recalls the mission on 25 May 1968. He, Vaughn, and four others were tagged for a patrol on Toi Son Island, just a thousand meters or so from Dong Tam in the middle of the Mekong River. Vaughn briefed the patrol emphasizing that there would be a lot of tin VC flags nailed to the trees through out the area and to leave them alone. They would be booby-trapped. Charlie knew that the GI was curious and careless.
That afternoon the navy crew picked the patrol up and would insert them just before dark. Just after dark the team off loaded from the PBR onto Toi Son Island and moved quickly and quietly across a rice paddy for approximately 600 meters. The patrol moved into a tree line, set their security, and continued to monitor the area. The following morning the patrol moved out through some thick nipa palm and came upon a well-used trail. They spotted several tin VC flags nailed to the trees. Marze was about 15 meters behind Vaughn who ignored his own advice, taking one of the flags and pulling it from the tree. It was booby-trapped. The explosion caught Vaughn in the chest. He was killed instantly (he only had 40 days to do before going home.) The loss of Vaughn still haunts Marze today, some 35 years later.
After a couple of months with the seals Marze returned to the LRRPs who, in between missions, were in the middle of constructing their living area at Dong Tam. Having left a super living area at Bearcat; hooch's had tin roofs, wooden sides about four feet off the ground, wire mesh the remaining couple of feet to the roof, and were set on concrete slabs, they were in the process of building even a better one. The LRRPs were a creative bunch and sometimes acquired building material outside of the normal requisition process. The lumber used to build the small club in the company area was gotten by way of the "midnight requisition." Marze (and a couple others) acquired some particle board and masonite that was intended for constructing the base chapel. The Chaplain caught them in the act and required them to attend services or he would report them. They attended the required amount of services, returned the acquired lumber and nothing further was said. Some time during this construction, Marze used the phrase, 'you lantern head-son-of-a-bitch.' He was immediately tagged with the nickname 'Lantern head,' by which he still answers today.
On 14 May 1968, Patrol Leader Staff Sergeant James Glaze, Australian Special Air Service (SAS) trooper by the name of Duffy, Specialists Four Larry J. Styer and Charles Knight, along with two or three others (one was a new guy), were on a mission in the Dinh Tuong Province. They were working with an Infantry Brigade which was being hit by sniper fire as they transported supplies along a highway in the "Pink Palace" area. The mission of the LRRP team was to search for and take out the snipers. Late in the afternoon the LRRPs met up with a line platoon that would be providing support.
Immediately after linking up with the support element, they saw approximately 10 VC moving across an open area in the rice paddy to the front. The team left the line platoon to intercept and block the route the VC was taking. The team moved through a line of woods and along a dike covered in heavy vegetation in their attempt to cut off the VC. As they started to cross the canal, they began receiving small arms fire from across the canal to their right front.
The Australian had gotten across prior to the team receiving fire and was called back across the canal to join the rest of the patrol. As he crossed back to the friendly side, fire was received from the front, the left, and the right of their position. Judging from the volume of fire, there had to be more than the 10 VC originally spotted. The LRRP team returned fire and Glaze called for the line platoon to move up to their position as he simultaneously called in artillery. The line unit was not able to move forward.
The new guy's weapon jammed and Glaze moved over to assist him. Trading weapons, Glaze was able to clear the jam and continued to call in artillery. Shortly after, the enemy fire ceased and the line platoon joined up. The area was searched and blood trails were found as well as other signs that the VC had entered the canal before disappearing. The men searched for a tunnel opening in the bank of the dike but could not find anything. The team was extracted without further incident or injuries.18
It happened on 1 June 1968 in a flat open see-for-miles rice paddy in the Plain of Reeds. Kenneth McConkey witnessed a young buck sergeant by the name of J.W. Boles back down a Bird Colonel who was abusing the use of the LRRPs that day. The Colonel's idea was to send seven LRRPs out a mile to a mile and a half ahead of the rifle company they were attached to for the purpose of drawing enemy fire. They were then to keep the fight going until he foot-slogged with the company across this distance of open rice paddy country to make a full engagement
J.W. spoke quietly and diplomatically, but the message was clear that he considered it a categorically stupid idea & it wasn't going to happen with his team. Boles starting out with 'Sir, I don't know if you've ever worked with the Long Range Patrol before, but'.' This went on for maybe five minutes, with Boles talking sense and the Colonel getting more and more insistent. He realized that Boles wasn't going to budge and he finally just stood and glared. You could just see the dreaded words dangling on the tip of the Colonel's tongue'.but he didn't say it because he knew Boles was not about to be intimidated.
No telling what Boles was ready to say next to the Colonel while they were having their stare-down, but by the way the conversation had escalated, one could guess that instead of the firm but respectful tone he had maintained it was probably going to be along the lines of 'Sir, that's dumb and we're just not going to do it,'..and if you don't like it, call the General see what he thinks of your idea.' They stood eyeball to eye ball for about a half a minute & then the Colonel backed up & walked away mumbling something about 'Well, if you're not going to do your job'' A few minutes later he came back and split the team up and distributed them among the platoons as an insult for him to save a little face out of the deal, but at least the LRRPs didn't provide Charlie with a casual afternoon of target practice like the Colonel wanted.
A few minutes later the word came that 'Somebody spotted a few gooks in some woods and we're going to flush them out and shoot them like pheasants.' They put the company in choppers and flew into the plain of reeds. McConkey hit the ground in the middle of what appeared to be a battalion-sized firefight on three sides of him. That 'leader of men' got a lot of brave soldiers killed for no good reason that afternoon. McConkey personally heard the Colonel give the Company Commander orders to assault. He kept hollering 'You've got to assault those positions.' The company was pinned down and losing more guys by the minute while he was high and dry up 3000 feet in his helicopter right above us. Another of his companies was trapped inside the NVA base camp getting the shit shot out of them. He just kept screaming that they had to move forward. There was no cover and little concealment against well fortified positions and they were chopping the company up at will with .51 calibers.